Bibliography
The research this program is built on.
These articles and studies support the need for better low vision services, particularly in post-acute care. Where a study has limits, we say so rather than quoting only the useful line.
Aging and vision loss fact sheet
American Foundation for the Blind
- 6.5 million Americans live with vision loss, expected to double by 2030
- The risk of low vision and blindness increases significantly with age
- Vision loss raises the risk of falls and fractures, and of depression
- It creates difficulty identifying medications, bathing, dressing and moving around the house
Visual Impairment and Blindness in Adults in the United States
Demographic and Geographic Variations from 2015 to 2050
- The number of older Americans with visual impairment or blindness is expected to double by 2050
- Uncorrected refractive errors affect 8.2 million people
- Vision rehabilitation can help people regain self-sufficiency and quality of life
Age Related Eye Disease
National Eye Institute
- As lifespans increase, the population living with age-related macular degeneration will rise sharply
- 1.7 million people have AMD and 100,000 are blind as a result
- The study focused on potential treatments. There is currently no cure.
Low Vision Rehabilitation in a Nursing Home Population: The SEEING Study
Johns Hopkins
- Nursing home patients with low vision are typically pushed in wheelchairs for convenience
- Too much assistance is given for independent living skills, such as eating, to speed up the task
- Nursing homes do not have adequate staff to help patients who have low vision
- Training nursing home staff to improve the living environment is recommended
- This is probably the most significant research conducted in this area.
The relationship between sensory impairment and functional independence among elderly
- A significantly greater proportion of residents with low vision were dependent on caregivers for activities of daily living
Vision Rehabilitation for Elderly Individuals with Vision Loss or Blindness
- People with low vision see significant quality of life improvements after comprehensive vision rehabilitation
- Improvements appeared across four areas: low vision, living skills, manual skills, and orientation and mobility
- These four areas are the primary focus of low vision therapy, which is lacking in most post-acute settings.
Vision Rehabilitation: Care and Benefit Plan Models
Literature review
- Covers the psycho-social effects of visual impairment on people in post-acute care
Long-Term Care Providers and Services Users in the United States
National Study of Long-Term Care Providers, 2013 to 2014
- 1.4 million Americans were residents in nursing homes, against 1.7 million available beds in 2014
Managing post-acute care in the 21st Century
- About 20% of patients are discharged to post-acute care annually
- Hospitals are incentivized to reduce readmissions by improving post-acute programs
Background on Post-Acute Quality Initiatives
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
- The CMS announcement sets out changes to IMPACT Act requirements in 2018, including an emphasis on improved mobility in post-acute care
Our own study is not in this list yet. When we predicted from a school vision screening that a child would struggle to read, we were right more often than not, and those children were about twice as likely to struggle as the comparison group. At current numbers that is a trend, not a statistically significant result. We are expanding to more schools this year to answer it, and we would rather tell you that than quote it as settled.